Sharp feeling optimistic at Featherstone

Featherstone Rovers may have lost to Leigh at the weekend, but new coach Jon Sharp has been encouraged by what he has seen at the club in his first week in charge.

While there are areas to be improved, in his opinion, not least squad depth, both training and on-field performance have impressed Sharp.

“I’m settling in well at Rovers like I knew I would,” he told Featherstonerovers.net.

“We’ve had three good training sessions so far and I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen in training.

“We train at a good intensity which is important but I also saw encouraging parts of our play at Leigh last weekend.

“I think we might be lacking in a bit of strength in depth at the moment but that’s something we can work on.

“It’s all about tidying up little areas of our play as a team and as individuals. I’m still getting to know the players and the qualities each person has but I learnt a lot on Sunday and I’ve been reviewing DVDs of previous games too.

“The selection of the team this week will be very important and that’s what I’m focusing on at the moment.”

Sharp feels that the training facilities at Rovers now are as good as anything he has seen in the game.

“When Mark Campbell (club chairman) first showed me the training facilities, I was amazed,” he added.

“The facilities we have are second to none and probably the best I’ve had the pleasure of utilising in my coaching career.

“The investment in the Centre of Excellence is substantial and we’ve also got a decent training pitch on site, so we are blessed compared to many other clubs.

“The Stadium is also looking fantastic and plaudits must go to the band of volunteers who have carried out the project and those who have helped with fundraising to enable the club to improve the stadium.

“It’s great stadium to play rugby league in and it’s definitely geared up for top flight rugby league.”